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Chapter 287
Black (Halloween Commemorative Illustration)
"Wh-what?! N-n-n-no, you're joking, right?"
"Does it look like a joke?"
A shadow hand reached for Penelope's throat as if it could snap her neck right this instant.
But it couldn't apply much force.
If not for the shackles binding Sitri's ankles, he would've killed her without mercy, golden-egg-laying goose or not.
W̊ӗ bn̂ о̄ v́_е l̂ Е ň u m̈а̊
The thought that she still had use was what held Ferda back.
"I'll give you one last chance to explain yourself."
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"Ex-explain? Uh......."
She made a show of racking her brain, then said this:
"It's black."
Ferda heard it clearly.
Ė nǔmà. і̌ ḋ
The sound of something snapping—*thud*.
The sound of his own patience snapping.
But hesitation makes you miss your timing.
Ferda ended up missing that timing after all.
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*Knock knock—.*
A resonance like an alarm bell clearing away the noise ringing in Ferda's head.
Wе̂bn̆оv̆е̄ l̊ Еn ū m̂ а̌
A knock sound only possible with a careful snap.
Only one person in this castle could make that sound.
"Ferda-ssi? Are you theeere......?"
It was Valdrova.
She peeked her head in, wearing a mask.
The hand that had been about to kill Penelope with shadows naturally vanished.
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Penelope made a fuss and ran toward Valdrova.
"Ohohoho!! Our Valdrova-jeonha has graced us with her presence!!?"
"Y-yeah, but why are you......?"
"Ah, why would words like 'but' come out? I'm just doing this because I'm glad to see you!?"
Valdrova flustered by the fussing.
Ferda saw Penelope's expression that Valdrova couldn't see.
W̄ӗ bǹо̄ v̀ е̌l Ӗn̆ ū mä
Relief at being alive.
And a sneer as if saying, 'What can you do about it?'
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It was actually true.
As far as Ferda was concerned, there was no way to deal with Penelope.
At least not right now.
"So the two of you can have a cozy time together, I'll carefully excuse myself! That's right, isn't it?"
W̊е b̂n̆.оv̂ё l̂ Е ñu ḿа
"Uh, yeah? Yeah......."
"I'll be on my way then!"
Penelope threw herself through the door and shut it tight.
The office now held only the two of them.
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Valdrova quietly removed her mask.
Seeing Valdrova's face, he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.
Е̌ n u m̊ а. ì d
"What brings you here?"
Ferda asked, averting his gaze.
"Well, monsters haven't appeared for the past few days....... Is it inconvenient for you right now?"
"No. If you're alright with it, please......."
He said that, but it was awkward.
It had been awkward since the wedding, but right now it was awkward enough to die.
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No wonder—the conversation they'd been having until Valdrova arrived was the problem.
Summarized in one word, it was Penelope Secret.
That word made Ferda's nerves go haywire.
'Don't mind it. Don't mind it.'
Ferda muttered like he was hypnotizing himself and took her hand.
"About Pepe."
W ӗ b n оv̈e l Е n̂ ǔm̃ а́
"Yes."
"She gave me a nice gift."
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"......."
Ferda felt something surge up.
His mouth tasted bitter and metallic—definitely blood.
"I-is that so?"
Еnûma
"It was really pretty. Thin...... with lots of floral patterns...... I thought, 'So it can be made this pretty'...... And because of that......."
She clenched her fist tight and said energetically.
"It feels like I've gained some confidence, you know?"
A woman's confidence.
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Ferda turned his face away at those words.
Even trying to think of something else, there was something in Ferda's head that couldn't be erased.
Ė nú ṁ а̊ .і d
Just as much as the rage that had surged watching Penelope, something powerful was writhing inside Ferda.
What should he do?
Should he just use forgetfulness magic?
That was a method too.
If he forgot everything Penelope said and made it never happen, it might be a little easier.
But he couldn't do that easily.
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Forgetfulness magic is very dangerous.
If you accidentally forget something else, you make an irreversible mistake.
Of course, that was just an excuse.
Ferda was impure enough that he couldn't even shake off the sacrilegious images in his head.
"Ferda-ssi?"
"Yes?"
Е̇ ǹ u̇ ma ._i̇d̀
"Your hands seem to be sweating a lot."
That conflict ultimately manifested as cold sweat seeping through their clasped hands.
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"I apologize. I'll go wipe my hands."
"Ah, th-that's......."
When Ferda tried to pull away slightly, Valdrova gripped Ferda's hand tight.
"It's not unpleasant or anything."
Еnu m̃ а̄ .i̊d
"Since I'm concerned, could you please let go so I can wipe them?"
"No....... Pepe prepared this for just such a time."
His body shuddered as if someone had smacked his back hard.
Valdrova subtly moved her empty hand to her skirt and pulled something out.
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Amidst the impure thoughts writhing, that gift entered Ferda's vision.
"I'll wipe them for you."
W̃ е́b.n̂ о́ v́ e l En u ṁ а̊
It was a handkerchief.
Thin, with a pretty floral pattern.
And black.
"......Is that it?"
"Huh?"
"Was that the gift Penelope gave?"
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"Yeah. She gave me this."
Valdrova smiled brightly and spread it out before Ferda.
A rectangular handkerchief.
"There's something really nice about it being thin and pretty, right? If you hold it up like this, you can see right through it? Isn't that amazing? Even made like this, it's super durable."
"......."
"Ah, I can see your face turning bright red too."
Еn u m̀_a
Valdrova laughed like she was enjoying herself.
Watching that, he felt fortunate amidst the misfortune.
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At least she didn't seem to have noticed the filthy thoughts in Ferda's head.
* * *
Hestia Village, Collection Point.
From morning, a wagon hurried inside.
Wе b ńо̇v е l̂ Е̌ n úm а̀
"Oh my, good morning!"
"Damn morning. Came through the cold all night so I'm out of it. Nice and warm here though."
"Warm up your bodies and get to work."
"Warming up's fine, but I'd like a drink of water first. If I leave it any longer my throat'll crack like firewood."
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"Timing's a bit bad....... You didn't bring any booze?"
"I did, but drinking from morning is a bit much, ain't it?"
W ёb_n о̌v̄ёl Еṅüm̊ а̂
"Not like that. The waterworks broke last night they say, so nobody can drink water. What was it...... heavy metals detected they say, drink it and you'll never get it up for life, right? So we dumped all the water and we're waiting."
"Managing it terribly, huh."
"All countries are like that. Still better than the Empire, ain't it?"
"Don't even get me started. You know how strict the Empire's entry inspections are these days?"
"How strict?"
"They find any excuse to lock you up. Patriot Act this, that—too many Dopplers so if you look even slightly suspicious entering they arrest you."
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"What can you do? Dopplers run rampant."
"It's not just Dopplers running rampant. Those bastards are trying to extort money, ain't they? 'I'll make your entry convenient so pay a fee,' something like that."
"Talk about fixing things up, merchants still dying out there."
"Can't even enter the capital these days. Used to go in to see the capital's splendid sights, but now they demand bribes for everything."
"Mercenary guy's got it rough too."
"Maybe it's 'cause you're a Doppler? Haha!!"
Ẃе̌b̆ n̊o v̌e̊l Е̊ ṅ u̇ m̌ а
"Hey, don't say unlucky shit!"
While they warmed up chatting lightly, a female employee approached with a smile.
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She brought a tray full of water cups.
"Water inspection's done. Everyone drink a cup."
"Oh, perfect timing. Don't gotta work with a sore throat!"
"Phew, feels like I'll live."
W ӗbňo̊ v е̃l̇ É n̆ ŭ ṁ а̇
"Can feel Hestia's not inferior to the capital even in the water taste. Right, mercenary guy?"
"Seems like it, ugh......."
"Why?"
"No, just feels like indigestion for a sec, don't worry, urrk?!"
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*Clatter!*
The mercenary drops the water cup he was holding.
Wе b̀ n̆о̇ v el Е̂.nǔ må
"You okay? What the...... gasp!"
Everyone froze, about to worry and move.
"Wh-what!?"
His light brown skin progressively darkened, his human form shifting into something else.
The mercenary opened his mouth, watching himself transform.
"Damn it."
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To ordinary humans, it was an utterly unfamiliar form, but instinctively they knew what it was.
"It's a demon!"
"D-Doppler! A Doppler appeared!"
They hurriedly tried to draw weapons.
But mere civilians couldn't beat a Doppler posing as a mercenary.
They died without even counterattacking.
W̊ eb n̆о̇ v́е ĺ Ѐn ũṁ а
"What's going on? Doppler?!"
But people gathered at their death screams.
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"Demon! A demon appeared!"
Water already spilled.
The Doppler mercenary realizes infiltration is impossible now.
"Too early to use this...... but can't be helped."
W ё b n o̊ v e l̄ Е̄ n u mа́
They are demons, ones heading toward the Void.
Having botched the job, the goal became taking as many as possible as companions in death.
If only he could do that, he didn't fear throwing away his life.
He pulled out a curved ritual dagger.
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"Let the Void be in Hestia's flames!"
His body dyed in black, black darkness, completely consuming his form into a mass of pure darkness.
Ẁе̂ b n о̇ v̈ е̄l Е n u m̊а
"Where's the demon?"
"There! The mercenary bastard at Collection Point 1!"
Mercenaries hearing a demon appeared rushed to the scene armed.
But it was already too late to clean up.
"What the hell is that?"
A question thrown with faces pale with lost fighting spirit and fear.
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Before them was a mass of darkness in demon form.
It soon writhed, breaking from demon form and rearranging into a new shape.
It was unmistakably the shape of a rune.
The rune, sucking in even light, grew larger, and a hole the size of its body formed in that spot.
Inside the circular hole flickering like a candle in the wind, an ominous color shimmered like heat haze.
Whatever magic it was exactly, the form alone told them enough.
W̃ еb̊ ṅ о̄v̈eľ Е̄ n̂û m̂ а̇
"P-Portal!"
A door connected somewhere.
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They roughly knew where.
-*Grrrrr.......*
What burst out were hideous monsters.
Hideous monsters invaded Hestia once more.
E ǹü m а
* * *
*Waaaaail!!*
An ear-splitting siren blares.
At the ominous sound in the lively marketplace, everyone flinches.
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Since Hestia had enjoyed quite a peaceful period these past few days, there was a part of them that hoped it was a malfunction.
"Everyone evacuate into the buildings! Monsters have already crossed the wall, so stay inside until it's lifted!"
Е n u m̌а̀ ..i̇ d̈
But the knights' urgent movements and shouts confirmed it wasn't a mistake.
-Gate occurred at Collection Point!
-Gate occurred at Adventurer's Inn too!
-Doppler also found in Residential District, Gate currently forming!
Just the Gates discovered numbered 5.
Monsters pouring from them exceeded 200, and still multiplying.
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Several times more than the first invasion were crawling out from inside.
In village terms, of course, even a city could be annihilated in under an hour with this force.
But these are Far Eastern people.
Being the people closest to monster lands, they maintained composure even in this situation.
"Come this way!"
"Hey you! Don't panic, come here!"
Е̄n̆um̀а.і d̃_
Hestia are people who've suffered invasion before.
To not repeat tragedy, citizen representatives periodically educated residents on evacuation drills.
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People evacuated instantly and locked doors, emptying the streets.
The battlefield streets filled with infantry.
"Infantry 1st Company! Show them our strength!"
"We'll ignite Hestia's flames!"
Ẽ ṅ u ṁ а .і̇d
Infantry bound by patriotism build a defensive formation with eyes blazing.
Armed with weapons capable of one-sided attack in a city designed for defense.
That wasn't all.
"Finally some pocket money!"
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"Even made us do warm-ups."
Adventurers with eyes in a different dimension from the initial riffraff.
Е̌ n̊ ũm а̃
Gold-rank adventurers gathered once they learned Far East exploration was profitable.
They were the type who enjoyed the thrill of adventure over money and safety.
Fighting monsters was just a warm-up before full-scale exploration.
Battle began with the sudden monster raid.
* * *
Hestia is the closest place to the Demon Land.
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Being closest to the demons' base, he wanted to be sure.
Not just his aides, but everyone under them—he wanted to believe they were human.
So he made them prove it.
Using the fact that all living things need water.
'Thought it wouldn't work, but it's certain.'
Ferda released detox potion into the water supply.
Ѐ n u mǎ.і d̀
Since Blue Eye started mass-producing detox potion, there was enough quantity to be effective even released in the capital.
'That's why surprise cleanup is the answer.'
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Before the operation, Ferda verified the identities of soldiers and commanders to be deployed, and pre-notified verified commanders of the operation.
After that, Ferda conducted a capital emergency inspection at night, preventing everyone from using water.
Through the night, people would've become thirsty.
Near their limit, at 9 AM Ferda reopened the water supply.
W è bn̂оvӗl̂ Ӗ ňu mǎ
The thirsty would drink water diluted with detox potion.
Then within an hour, everyone would have to reveal their true forms.
As Ferda predicted, all hidden Dopplers revealed themselves.
'If there's an unexpected factor, it's the Gates.'
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For Ferda who only thought they'd rampage, it was a troubling situation.
Yet it wasn't the worst.
Еn um̈ ӑ .і d̈
'No risk, no return.'
To pull roots, you must be ready to get dirt on your hands.
Ferda mounted his horse.
Behind him, knights in heavy armor awaited Ferda's command.
Ferda looked at them and shouted with all his might.
"Sweep away every last remnant of the filthy demons!"
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